For information about our faculty visit the "Research and Facilities" page (click here or the above tab). Choose a topic which will give you the list of faculty and links to their website. For staff contacts see "About Us" (click hereor the above tab).

Dr. Joe Casto

I direct the Integrative Avian Biology Lab at ISU. We investigate the efefcts of a variety of internal and external environmental influences on behavior, development and immune function in captive and free-living birds.

Paitz, R.T.,Casto, J.M. (2012). The decline in yolk progesterone concentrations during development is dependent on embryonic development in the European starling. General and Comparative Endocrinology,176, 415-419.

Casto, J.M., Ball, G.F. (1994). Localization of D1 dopamine receptors in the sexually dimorphic vocal control nucleus, area X, and the basal ganglia of European starlings. Journal of Neurobiology, 25, 767-780.

Bernard, D.J., Casto, J.M., Ball, G.F. (1993). Sexual dimorphism in the volume of song control nuclei of European starlings: Assessment by a Nissl stain and autoradiography for muscarinic cholinergic receptors. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 334, 559-570.